MIAMI- European planemaker Airbus A321XLR is on a 10-day international route proving campaign and is on its way to Miami (MIA) on its 6th day.
This campaign is crucial to Airbus’ certification efforts and aims to contribute to the expected EASA-type Type Certification for the new variant in 2024.
Airbus A321XLR to Miami
According to FlighRadar24, the Airbus A321XLR took off from Dublin (DUB), Ireland, at around 10:10 AM. It is currently airborne and is expected to reach Miami (MIA) after around nine hours and 32 minutes of flights.
In essence, the primary goal of the FnR is to showcase the maturity of the A321XLR’s systems well in advance of its entry into service. The campaign aims to accumulate approximately 100 hours of flight time over a span of 10 days without any system power-down.
It involves a series of specific flight sectors, totaling around 15 flights, carefully designed to mimic typical routes that airlines might operate when the aircraft becomes operational.
These sectors encompass various operator profiles, climatic conditions, flight durations, and airport turnaround times.
10-Days Campaign
The initial phase of the maturity campaign will involve the aircraft undertaking various trips, each lasting several hours, departing from Toulouse and returning to Toulouse.
One of these trips, for instance, will approach the North Pole before circling back to Toulouse, while others will cover routes across Europe.
The second phase will focus on transatlantic operations to and from a US gateway airport. Throughout the 10-day period, there will be multiple transitions of airline and Airbus flight crews between these different flight sectors.
Real Flights
For the first time since the A321XLR’s inaugural flight in June 2022, real airline cabin and flight crews will actively participate, working alongside Airbus test pilots, flight engineers, and approximately 30 volunteer passengers consisting of Airbus and airline employees.
This collaboration involves a multitude of supporting teams both on the ground in Toulouse and at the destination airports, all dedicated to achieving a common objective: providing valuable feedback as the A321XLR embarks on its maiden long-haul journeys, crossing oceans, and visiting international airports.
Once the flights have concluded, the FnR campaign proceeds to its next phase, which encompasses certification reporting and Airbus’ internal development efforts.
Regarding certification obligations, Airbus commits to submitting a report to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) within two weeks of concluding the exercise.
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